Home Kitchen Laws in Delaware

Home kitchen laws in Delaware

The plain-English guide to selling food from home in Delaware.

Which laws apply

Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed: only non-time/temperature-controlled-for-safety (non-TCS) foods on the Division's approved list — traditional baked goods (cakes, breads, cookies, rolls, muffins, brownies, fruit pies, pastries); jams, jellies and other fruit preserves; candy products (fudge, lollipops, chocolates, tortes, hard candy, rock candy). Not allowed: anything TCS (foods needing refrigeration), bakery items with TCS components (cream, custard, meat fillings), fresh dairy, canned or pickled/acidified products, and any product containing cannabis.

Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Delaware

🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track in Delaware: foods are made at home and sold by preorder / pickup, not as restaurant-style reservations.

Allowed foods: Allowed: only non-time/temperature-controlled-for-safety (non-TCS) foods on the Division's approved list — traditional baked goods (cakes, breads, cookies, rolls, muffins, brownies, fruit pies, pastries); jams, jellies and other fruit preserves; candy products (fudge, lollipops, chocolates, tortes, hard candy, rock candy).

Prohibited foods: anything TCS (foods needing refrigeration), bakery items with TCS components (cream, custard, meat fillings), fresh dairy, canned or pickled/acidified products, and any product containing cannabis.

Sales cap (cottage track): No sales cap — the Cottage Food Regulations set no gross-sales limit (no cap provision found in 16 DE Admin. Code 4458A).

Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):

Assemble the application: owner info, product list with ingredients plus example labels, kitchen floor plan with appliances and storage areas, and venues where products will be sold
Label every product: CFE name, product name, 'town/city, Delaware', phone or email, net weight or unit count, production date or lot number, ingredients by weight, allergens, and the statement 'This food is made in a Cottage Food Establishment and is NOT subject to routine Government Food Safety Inspections'

Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):

Delaware direct sales only — no online sales, no wholesale, no out-of-state sales (early-2027 proposal would change this)
Pass the pre-operational home-kitchen inspection, then sell direct to Delaware consumers at farmers markets and approved venues only — no online or wholesale sales (expansion coming in the proposed early-2027 update)

Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Delaware

🌮 Street Food — Sidewalk & Mobile

Street and mobile vendors do not cook from home kitchens — they sell in public places under different permits, and on this site they are walk-up only (no bookings).

Sales caps

No sales cap — the Cottage Food Regulations set no gross-sales limit (no cap provision found in 16 DE Admin. Code 4458A).

Permit steps

Complete an Office of Food Protection-approved food-safety course (e.g., ServSafe; course certificate required with application)
Assemble the application: owner info, product list with ingredients plus example labels, kitchen floor plan with appliances and storage areas, and venues where products will be sold
Private well? Attach satisfactory chemical/bacteriological water analysis (within 60 days) and DNREC sewage approval; public water and sewer need nothing further
Submit application to the DHSS Division of Public Health (Office of Food Protection) with the $30 annual registration fee (registration year April 1–March 31)
Pass the pre-operational home-kitchen inspection; the Division then adds you to the Delaware State Registry of Cottage Food Establishments
Label every product: CFE name, product name, 'town/city, Delaware', phone or email, net weight or unit count, production date or lot number, ingredients by weight, allergens, and the statement 'This food is made in a Cottage Food Establishment and is NOT subject to routine Government Food Safety Inspections'
Renew annually with a new application and fee; display the registration certificate at every venue; Delaware direct sales only — no online sales, no wholesale, no out-of-state sales (early-2027 proposal would change this)

How to start in Delaware

1. Pick only shelf-stable, non-TCS products (baked goods, jams/jellies, candy) — no refrigerated, meat, dairy, canned/pickled, or cannabis items. 2. Complete a food-safety course approved by the Office of Food Protection (ServSafe, Delaware DineSafe, or UD Cooperative Extension training). 3. Prepare your application: business details, full product list with ingredients and sample labels, a kitchen floor plan, and the venues where you will sell. 4. If you have a private well, get a satisfactory water test (within 60 days) and sewage approval; public water needs nothing further. 5. Submit the application plus the $30 annual fee to the Division of Public Health, Office of Food Protection. 6. Pass the pre-operational home-kitchen inspection, then sell direct to Delaware consumers at farmers markets and approved venues only — no online or wholesale sales (expansion coming in the proposed early-2027 update). 7. Renew every year (April 1–March 31 cycle) and display your registration certificate at each sales venue.

Recent changes

2026: DPH finalized technical/permit-guideline revisions to 4458A, effective May 11, 2026 (proposed Feb. 1, 2026, 29 DE Reg. 675; no public comments). 2026: Gov. Meyer's Executive Order 21 directed DPH to modernize the cottage-food framework; on Sept. 21, 2026 the state announced proposed updates in early 2027 — online sales in-state and out-of-state (with FDA registration/labeling), sales through retail establishments, a switch from an inclusion-based to an exclusion-based allowed-foods list, and self-attestation replacing the pre-operational inspection (inspections only on complaint). 2026: HB337 (folic acid fortification of corn masa flour, effective Jan. 1, 2027) passed 6/16/26 and awaits the Governor; cottage food establishments that use corn masa are exempt. No MEHKO/microenterprise hot-meal program and no food freedom act exist in Delaware; no cottage-food-specific legislation passed 2024–2026.

Official sources

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Not legal advice. Rules change — confirm everything with Delaware's health department before selling.